Editing Beck (section)

==Career==
===Early performances and first releases (1988–1993)===
Beck began as a [[Folk music|folk]] musician, switching between [[country blues]], [[Delta blues]], and more traditional rural folk music in his teenage years.<ref name=q97>{{cite news| last=Cavanagh| first=David| title=The Devil Inside |work=[[Q magazine|Q]]| date=July 1997| pages =92–99| publisher =[[Bauer Media Group]]| location =London }}</ref> He began performing on city buses, often covering Mississippi John Hurt alongside original, sometimes improvisational compositions.<ref name="rs94"/> "I'd get on the bus and start playing Mississippi John Hurt with totally improvised lyrics. Some drunk would start yelling at me, calling me [[Axl Rose]]. So I'd start singing about Axl Rose and the levee and bus passes and strychnine, mixing the whole thing up", he later recalled.<ref name="rs94"/> He was also in a band called Youthless that hosted [[Dada]]ist-inspired freeform events at city coffee shops.<ref name="q97"/> "We had [[Radio Shack]] mics and this homemade speaker and we'd draft people in the audience to recite comic books or do a [[beatbox]] thing, or we'd tie the whole audience up in masking tape," Beck recalled.<ref name="q97"/>

In 1989, Beck caught a bus to New York City with little more than $8.00 and a guitar.<ref name="rs94"/> He spent the summer attempting to find a job and a place to live with little success.<ref name="rs94"/> Beck eventually began to frequent [[Manhattan]]'s [[Lower East Side]] and stumbled upon the tail end of the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]]'s [[anti-folk]] scene's first wave.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/> Beck became involved in a loose posse of acoustic musicians—including [[Cindy Lee Berryhill]], [[Kirk Kelly]], [[Paleface (musician)|Paleface]], and [[Lach (musician)|Lach]] headed by [[Roger Manning]]—whose raggedness and eccentricity placed them well outside the acoustic mainstream.<ref name="lat94"/><ref name="gp94"/> "The whole mission was to destroy all the clichés and make up some new ones," said Beck of his New York years. "Everybody knew each other. You could go up onstage and say anything, and you wouldn't feel weird or feel any pressure."<ref name="gp94"/> Inspired by that freedom and by the local spoken-word performers, Beck began to write free-associative, [[surrealism|surrealistic]] songs about pizza, [[MTV]], and working at [[McDonald's]], turning mundane thoughts into songs.<ref name=gp94>{{cite news| last=Rotondi| first=James| title=Beck & Roger Manning: "Set Your Guitars and Banjos on Fire" |work=[[Guitar Player]]| date=September 1994|volume=28| issue =9| pages =113–116| publisher =[[New Bay Media]]| location =[[San Bruno, California|San Bruno]] | issn = 0017-5463}}</ref> Beck was roommates with [[Paleface (musician)|Paleface]], sleeping on his couch and attending open mic nights together.<ref>Leibovitz, Annie. ''American Music''. New York: Random House, 264 pp. First edition, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-375-50507-2}}.</ref> Daunted by the prospect of another homeless New York winter, Beck returned to his home of Los Angeles in early 1991.<ref name="lat94"/><ref>Palacios, Julian. ''Beck: Beautiful Monstrosity'', p.67. Boxtree, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-7522-7143-9}}.</ref> "I was tired of being cold, tired of getting beat up," he later remarked. "It was hard to be in New York with no money, no place ... I kinda used up all the friends I had. Everyone on the scene got sick of me."<ref name="rs94"/>

Back in Los Angeles, Beck began to work at a [[Video rental shop|video store]] in the [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles|Silver Lake]] neighborhood, "doing things like alphabetizing the pornography section".<ref name="rs94"/> He began performing in arthouse clubs and coffeehouses such as Al's Bar and [[Raji's]].<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/><ref name="rs94"/><ref name="lat94"/> In order to keep indifferent audiences engaged in his music, Beck would play in a spontaneous, joking manner.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 71</ref> "I'd be banging away on a [[Son House]] tune and the whole audience would be talking. So maybe out of desperation or boredom, or the audience's boredom, I'd make up these ridiculous songs just to see if people were listening," he later remarked.<ref name=ew97>{{Cite magazine| last=Browne| first=David| author-link=David Browne (journalist)| title=Beck in the High Life| magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]| issue =366| pages =32–35| date=February 14, 1997| publisher =[[Time Inc.]]| location =New York City | issn = 1049-0434}}</ref> Virtually an unknown to the public and an enigma to those who met him, Beck would hop onstage between acts in local clubs and play "strange folk songs", accompanied by "what could best be described as [[performance art]]" while sometimes wearing a ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Stormtrooper (Star Wars)|stormtrooper]] mask.<ref name=lat94>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-20-ca-25047-story.html| title=Don't Get Bitter on Us, Beck| work=[[Los Angeles Times]]| date=February 20, 1994| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Hochman, Steve| location=Los Angeles| issn=0458-3035| archive-date=October 29, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200830/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-02-20/entertainment/ca-25047_1_folk-songs| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck met someone who offered to help record [[Demo (music)|demos]] in his living room, and he began to pass [[Compact Cassette|cassette tapes]] around.<ref name="lat94"/>

Eventually, Beck gained key boosters in Margaret Mittleman, the West Coast's director of talent acquisitions for [[BMG Music Publishing]], and the partners behind [[independent record label]] [[Bong Load Custom Records]]: [[Tom Rothrock]], [[Rob Schnapf]], and Brad Lambert.<ref name="rsencyclopedia"/> Schnapf saw Beck perform at Jabberjaw and felt he would suit their small venture.<ref name="lat94"/> Beck expressed a loose interest in [[hip hop]] and Rothrock introduced him to Carl Stephenson, a record producer for [[Rap-A-Lot Records]].<ref name="lat94"/><ref>Palacios 2000, p. 72</ref> In 1992, Beck visited Stephenson's home to collaborate with him. The result—the [[slide guitar|slide]]-[[sampling (music)|sampling]] hip hop track "[[Loser (Beck song)|Loser]]"—was a one-off experiment that Beck set aside, going back to his folk songs, making his home tapes such as ''[[Golden Feelings]]'', and releasing several independent singles.<ref name="lat94"/>

===''Mellow Gold'', and independent albums (1993–1994)===
By 1993, Beck was living in a rat-infested shed near a Los Angeles alleyway with little money.<ref name="rs94"/> Bong Load issued "Loser" as a single in March 1993 on 12" vinyl with only 500 copies pressed.<ref name = "Palacios 77">Palacios 2000, p. 77</ref> Beck felt that "Loser" was mediocre, and only agreed to its release at Rothrock's insistence.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 74</ref> "Loser" unexpectedly received radio airplay, starting in Los Angeles, where [[Campus radio|college radio]] station [[KXLU]] was the first to play it,<ref>{{cite news |last=Hart |first=Ron |date=March 4, 2019 |title=Beck Producer Tom Rothrock Looks Back on 'Mellow Gold' & Its Unlikely Road to Success |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8500851/beck-producer-tom-rothrock-mellow-gold-loser |magazine= Billboard|location=NYC |access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name = "Palacios 77" /> and later on [[Santa Monica College]] radio station [[KCRW]], where radio host [[Chris Douridas]] played the song on ''[[Morning Becomes Eclectic]]'', the station's flagship music program. "I called the record label that day and asked to have Beck play live on the air", Douridas said. "He came in that Friday, rapped to a tape of 'Loser' and did his song 'MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack.{{'"}}<ref name="lat94"/> That night, Beck performed at the Los Angeles club Cafe Troy to a packed audience and talent scouts from major labels.<ref name="lat94"/> The song then spread to Seattle through [[KNDD]] The End, and [[KROQ-FM]] began playing the song on an almost hourly basis.<ref name = "Palacios 77" /> As Bong Load struggled to press more copies of "Loser", Beck was beset with offers to sign with major labels.<ref name="Palacios 80">Palacios 2000, p. 80</ref> During the bidding war in November, Beck spent several days in [[Olympia, Washington]], recording material with [[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]] of [[Beat Happening]], which would later see release the following year on Johnson's [[K Records]] as ''[[One Foot in the Grave (album)|One Foot in the Grave]]''.<ref name="bb93"/>

A fierce bidding war ensued, with [[Geffen Records]] A&R director Mark Kates signing Beck in December 1993 amid intense competition from [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]] and [[Capitol Records|Capitol]].<ref name="lat94"/><ref name=bb93>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| title=Labels are at Beck's call; "Loser" may win deal for new artist| magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| date=November 27, 1993| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Rosen, Craig| volume=105| issue=48| publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]| location=New York City| issn=0006-2510| archive-date=August 6, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806003751/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/meet-beck-the-unlikely-success-story-of-a-hip-hop-folk-rocker-19940421| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck's non-exclusive contract with Geffen allowed him an unusual amount of creative freedom, with Beck remaining free to release material through such small, independent labels as [[Flipside Records|Flipside]], which issued the sprawling, 25-track collection of pre-"Loser" recordings titled ''[[Stereopathetic Soulmanure]]'' on February 22 the following year.<ref name="lat94"/><ref name="bb93"/> By the time Beck released his first album for Geffen, the low-budget, genre-blending ''[[Mellow Gold]]'' on March 1,<ref name="lat94"/> "Loser" was already in the top 40 and its video in MTV's [[Buzz Bin]].<ref name=rs97>{{cite news | title=Beck: The Rolling Stone Interview| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=April 17, 1997 | author=Kemp, Mark| issue =758| pages =58–64; 94; 97| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> "Loser" quickly ascended the charts in the U.S., reaching a peak of number ten on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] singles chart and topping the [[Hot Modern Rock Tracks|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref name="US charts">{{cite magazine | title= Beck—Artist Chart History | magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | url= {{BillboardURLbyName|artist=beck|chart=all}} | access-date=December 21, 2008 }}</ref> The song also charted in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe. Beck's newfound position of attention led to his characterization as the "King of Slackers", as the media dubbed him the center of the new so-called "slacker" movement.<ref>Palacios 2000, p. 84</ref> Critics, feeling it the essential follow-up to [[Radiohead]]'s "[[Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep]]",<ref name="bb93"/> found vacantness in the lyrics of "Loser" strongly associated with [[Generation X]], although Beck himself strongly contested his position as the face of the "slacker" generation: "Slacker my ''ass''. I mean, I ''never'' had any slack. I was working a $4-an-hour job trying to stay alive. That slacker stuff is for people who have the time to be depressed about everything."<ref name="rs94"/>

===Backlash and ''Odelay'' (1994–1997)===
Feeling as though he was "constantly trying to prove myself",<ref name="rs97"/> Beck suffered a backlash, with skeptics denouncing him as a self-indulgent fake and the latest marketing opportunity.<ref name=ew94>{{cite magazine| last=Lewman| first=Mark| title="Loser" Takes All|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]| date=April 8, 1994| issue =217| page =14| publisher =[[Time Inc.]]| location =New York City | issn = 1049-0434}}</ref> In the summer of 1994, Beck was struggling and many of his fellow musicians thought he had lost his way.<ref name="q97"/> Combined with "Loser"'s wildly popular music video and the world tour, Beck reacted believing the attention could not last, resulting in a status as a "[[one-hit wonder]]". At other concerts, crowds were treated to twenty minutes of [[reggae]] or [[Miles Davis]] or [[Punk jazz|jazz-punk]] iterations of "Loser".<ref name="nym12"/> At one-day festivals in California, he surrounded himself with an artnoise combo. The drummer set fire to his cymbals; the lead guitarist "played" his guitar with the strings faced towards his body; and Beck changed the words to "Loser" so that nobody could sing along.<ref name="q97"/> "I can't tell you how many times I was looking at faces that were looking back at me with complete bewilderment—or just pointing and shaking their heads and laughing—while performing during that period," he later recalled.<ref name=p4k11>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8026-beck-15-years/| title=Beck: 15 Years| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=August 17, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Dombal, Ryan| archive-date=June 27, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627111120/http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8026-beck-15-years/| url-status=live}}</ref> Despite this, Beck gained the respect of his peers, such as [[Tom Petty]] and [[Johnny Cash]], and created an entire wave of bands determined to recapture the ''Mellow Gold'' sound.<ref name="ocr96"/> Feeling his previous releases were just collections of demos recorded over the course of several years, Beck desired to enter the studio and record an album in a continuous linear fashion, which became ''[[Odelay]]''.<ref name="p4k11"/>

Beck blends country, blues, rap, jazz and rock on ''Odelay'', the result of a year and half of feverish "cutting, pasting, layering, dubbing, and, of course, sampling".<ref name=rs96>{{cite news| title=Beck: Resident Alien| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=July 11, 1996 | author=Dunn, Jancee| issue =738/739| pages =50–51; 53| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Each day, the musicians started from scratch,<ref name="rs99"/> often working on songs for 16 hours straight.<ref name="rs96"/> ''Odelay''{{'}}s conception lies in an unfinished studio album Beck first embarked on following the success of "Loser", chronicling the difficult time he experienced: "There was a cycle of everyone dying around me," he recalled later.<ref name="ocr96"/> He was constantly recording, and eventually put together an album of somber, orchestrated folk tunes; one that, perhaps, "could have been a commercial blockbuster along with similarly themed work by [[Smashing Pumpkins]], [[Nine Inch Nails]] and [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]".<ref name="ocr96"/> Instead, Beck plucked one song from it—the ''Odelay'' album closer "Ramshackle"—and shelved the rest ("Brother" and "Feather In Your Cap" were, however, later released as B-sides).<ref name="q97"/><ref name=ocr96>{{cite news| title=Beck Lives Through the Hype That Would Have Killed Most Losers| newspaper=[[The Orange County Register]]| date=October 9, 1996 | author=Brown, Mark| publisher =[[Freedom Communications]]| location =[[Santa Ana, CA|Santa Ana]] | issn = 0886-4934}}</ref> Beck was introduced to the [[Dust Brothers]], producers of the Beastie Boys' album ''[[Paul's Boutique]]'', whose cut-and-paste, sample-heavy production suited Beck's vision of a more fun, accessible album.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} After a record executive explained that ''Odelay'' would be a "huge mistake", he spent many months thinking "that I'd blown it forever".<ref name="nym12"/>

''Odelay'' was released on June 18, 1996, to commercial success and critical acclaim. The record produced several hit [[Single (music)|singles]] including "[[Where It's At (Beck song)|Where It's At]]", "[[Devils Haircut (song)|Devils Haircut]]", and "[[The New Pollution]]",<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9709/05/mtv.music.awards/ "Beck, Jamiroquai big winners at MTV Music Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215033521/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9709/05/mtv.music.awards/ |date=December 15, 2017 }}. ''CNN'', September 5, 1997</ref> and was nominated for the [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] in 1997, winning a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album|Best Alternative Music Album]] as well as a [[Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance]] for "Where It's At". During one busy week in January 1997, he landed his Grammy nominations, appeared on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' and ''[[Howard Stern (E! show)|Howard Stern]]'', and did a last-minute trot on ''[[The Rosie O'Donnell Show]]''. The combined buzz gave ''Odelay'' a second wind, leading to an expanded fan base and additional exposure<ref name="ew97"/> Beck enjoyed but, like several executives at Geffen, was bewildered by the success of ''Odelay''. He would often get recognized in public, which made him feel strange. "It's just weird. It doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel natural to me. I don't think I was made for that. I was never good at that," he later told [[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]].<ref name="p4k11"/> ''Odelay'' sold two million copies and put "one-hit wonder" criticisms to rest. During this time, he contributed the song "[[Deadweight (song)|Deadweight]]" to the soundtrack of the film ''[[A Life Less Ordinary]]'' (1997).<ref name="rs98"/>

===''Mutations'' and ''Midnite Vultures'' (1998–2001)===
[[File:Oliver Mark - Beck, Hamburg 2000.jpg|alt=Close-up portrait of musician Beck having his eyes closed against an abstract blue background.|thumb|Beck in [[Hamburg]], 2000]]
Having not been in a proper studio since "Deadweight", Beck felt anxious to "go in and just do some stuff real quick", and compiled several songs he had had for years.<ref name="rs98"/> Beck and his bandmates wrote songs in fourteen days, although just twelve made it onto the album, 1998's ''[[Mutations (Beck album)|Mutations]]''.<ref name="rs98"/> Beck hired the producer [[Nigel Godrich]], who had produced [[Radiohead]]'s 1997 album ''[[OK Computer]]''.<ref name="rs98" /> Godrich was leaving the United States for England in a short time, which led to the album's quick production schedule—"No looking back, no doctoring anything."<ref name="rs98" /> The whole point of the record was to capture the performance of the musicians live, an uncharacteristic far-cry from the cut-and-paste aesthetic of ''Odelay''.<ref name=rs98>{{cite news| title=Q&A: Beck| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=November 26, 1998 | author=DeCurtis, Anthony| issue =800| page =39| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Though the album was originally slated for release by Bong Load Records, Geffen intervened and issued the record against Beck's wishes.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/12/Ent/music.html |title=Beck on top |newspaper=[[Now (newspaper)|Now]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120212507/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/12/Ent/music.html |archive-date=January 20, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9847,smith,1349,22.html |title=Beck to the Base |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420172712/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9847%2Csmith%2C1349%2C22.html |archive-date=April 20, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The artist then sought to void his contracts with both record labels, and in turn the labels sued him for breach of contract. The litigation went on for years and it remains unclear to this day if it has ever been completely resolved.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425589/05041999/beck.jhtml |title=Beck Battles Labels Over Business, Artistic Issues |publisher=MTV |date=May 4, 1999 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080225173603/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425589/05041999/beck.jhtml |archive-date = February 25, 2008}}</ref> Beck was later awarded Best Alternative Music Performance for ''Mutations'' at the [[42nd Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/50274181.html?dids=50274181:50274181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |title=The Grammys 2000; Other Winners |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 24, 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504000917/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/50274181.html?dids=50274181%3A50274181&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AFT |archive-date=May 4, 2009 }}</ref>

''[[Midnite Vultures]]'', Beck's next studio effort, was originally recorded as a double album, and more than 25 nearly completed songs were left behind.<ref name="p4k11"/> In the studio, Beck and producers studied contemporary hip hop and R&B, specifically [[R. Kelly]], in order to embrace and incorporate those influences in the way [[Al Green]] and [[Stax Records|Stax records]] had done in previous decades.<ref name="p4k11"/> In July 1998, a core group began to assemble at Beck's [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] home: bassist [[Justin Meldal-Johnsen]], keyboardist [[Roger Joseph Manning Jr.]], and producer-engineers [[Mickey Petralia]] and [[Tony Hoffer]].<ref name="rs99"/> Dozens of session players passed through including Beck's father, David Campbell, who played viola and arranged some of the strings. The musicians held communal meals and mountain-bike rides on dusty trails nearby, but remained focused on Beck's instructions: to make an up-tempo album that would be fun to play on tour night after night.<ref name="rs99"/> "I had so many things going on", said Beck of the recording process. "I had a couple of rooms of computers hooked up, I was doing B sides for Japan, I was programming beats in one room and someone would be cooking dinner in the other room."<ref name=rs99>{{cite news| title=Beck: Notes on a Full-Grown Man| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=December 9, 1999 | author=Healy, Mark| issue =827| pages =38–40| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> In November 1999, Geffen released the much-anticipated ''Midnite Vultures'',<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wxw6 |title=Midnite Vultures, Review |publisher=BBC |date=January 5, 2010 |archive-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213062052/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wxw6 |url-status=live }}</ref> which attracted confusion: "fans and critics misguidedly worried whether it was serious or a goof," and as a result, ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the album "never won the audience it deserved".<ref name="nyt05"/> The record was supported by an extensive world tour. For Beck, it was a return to the high-energy performances that had been his trademark as far back as Lollapalooza. The live stage set included a red bed that descended from the ceiling for the song "[[Debra (song)|Debra]]", and the touring band was complemented by a brass section.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83419250.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104050603/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83419250.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |title=Beck Revives Soul of '70s, Singer Keeps Crowd Rocking |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |date=May 8, 2000 }}</ref> ''Midnite Vultures'' was nominated for Best Album at the [[43rd Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 25, 2008|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66037416.html?dids=66037416:66037416&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|title=The 43rd Annual Grammy Nominations; Grammys Cast a Wider Net Than Usual; Awards * Breaking recent tradition, the academy's nominations are spread out among many acts.|first=Geoff|last=Boucher|date=January 4, 2001|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-date=May 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504001417/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66037416.html?dids=66037416:66037416&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===''Sea Change'' (2002–2003)===
In 2000, Beck and his fiancée, stylist Leigh Limon, ended their nine-year relationship.<ref name="age">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/28/1032734372703.html|title=Beck to basics|author=Paul Lester|date=September 29, 2002|newspaper=[[The Age]]|access-date=February 13, 2011|location=Melbourne|archive-date=November 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109171256/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/28/1032734372703.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck lapsed into a period of melancholy and introspection, during which he wrote the bleak, acoustic-based tracks later found on ''Sea Change''.<ref name="heartbreak">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457794/beck-pours-his-heart-out.jhtml|title=Beck Shoots For Feel-Good Acoustic Heartbreak LP|author=Jon Wiederhorn|date=September 26, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172143/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457794/beck-pours-his-heart-out.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beck sat on the songs, not wanting to talk about his personal life; he later said that he wanted to focus on music and "not really strew my baggage across the public lobby". Eventually, however, he decided the songs spoke to a common experience, and that it would not seem self-indulgent to record them.<ref name="beckchecksin">{{cite news| title=Beck Checks in to Heartbreak Hotel|author=Issac Guzman|date=September 29, 2002|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York}}</ref> In 2001, Beck drifted back to the songs and called Godrich.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353545,00.html|title=Beck Gets (Kind of) Blue|author=Josh Tyrangial|date=September 22, 2002|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=October 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027013610/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020930-353545,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Retailers initially predicted that the album would not receive much radio support, but they also believed that Beck's maverick reputation and critical acclaim, in addition to the possibility of multiple Grammy nominations, might offset ''Sea Change''{{'}}s noncommercial sound.<ref name="beckchecksin"/> ''Sea Change'', issued by Geffen in September 2002, was regardless a commercial hit and critical darling,<ref name="nyt05"/> with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' revering it as "the best album Beck has ever made, [...] an impeccable album of truth and light from the end of love. This is his ''[[Blood on the Tracks]]''."<ref name=rs02review>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/sea-change-20020910| title=Review: ''Sea Change'', Beck| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=October 3, 2002| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=[[Fricke, David|David Fricke]]| issue=906| pages=97–98| publisher=[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624123003/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/sea-change-20020910| url-status=live}}</ref> The album was later listed by the magazine as one of the best records of the decade and of all time, and it also placed second on the year's [[Pazz & Jop]] Critics Poll. ''Sea Change'' yielded a low-key, theater-based acoustic tour, as well as a larger tour with [[The Flaming Lips]] as Beck's opening and backing band.<ref name="becktour">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456011/beck-sets-up-acoustic-tour.jhtml|title=Beck Previewing New Songs on Acoustic Tour|author=Jon Wiederhorn|date=July 10, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172310/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456011/beck-sets-up-acoustic-tour.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="flaminglips">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457030/flaming-lips-backing-beck.jhtml|title=Beck's Plan For Keeping Everyone Awake: The Flaming Lips|author=Jon Wiederhorn|date=August 14, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172248/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457030/flaming-lips-backing-beck.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beck was playful and energetic, sometimes throwing in covers of [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Big Star]], [[The Zombies]] and [[The Velvet Underground]].<ref name="rs02review"/><ref name="jackwhite">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456977/beck-gets-giggles-jack-white-mi.jhtml|title=Beck Gets The Giggles, White Stripes' Jack at Michigan Gig|author=Christina Fuoco|date=August 12, 2002|publisher=MTV News|access-date=February 13, 2011|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172314/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456977/beck-gets-giggles-jack-white-mi.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the release of ''Sea Change'', Beck felt newer compositions were sketches for something more evolved in the same direction, and wrote nearly 35 more songs in the coming months, keeping demos of them on tapes in a suitcase.<ref name="p4k11"/> During his solo tour, the tapes were left backstage during a stop in Washington, D.C., and Beck was never able to recover them. It was disheartening to the musician, who felt the two years of songwriting represented something more technically complex. As a result, Beck took a break and wrote no original compositions in 2003.<ref name="p4k11"/> Feeling as though it might take him a while to "get back to that [songwriting] territory", he entered the studio with Dust Brothers to complete a project that dated back to ''Odelay''. Nearly half of the songs had existed since the 1990s.<ref name="p4k11"/>

===''Guero'' and ''The Information'' (2004–2007)===
[[File:Beck Hansen.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Beck in 2005]]
''[[Guero]]'', Beck's ninth studio album, was recorded over the span of nine months during which several significant events occurred in his life: his girlfriend, Marissa Ribisi, became pregnant; they were married; their son, Cosimo, was born; and they moved out of Silver Lake.<ref name=nyt05>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/06BECK.html| title=Beck at a Certain Age| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=March 6, 2005| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Lubow, Arthur| location=New York City| issn=0362-4331| archive-date=October 10, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010033308/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/beck-at-a-certain-age.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="guerolito"/> The collaboration with the Dust Brothers, his second, was notable for their use of high-tech measures to achieve a lo-fi sound.<ref name="nyt05"/> For example, after recording a "sonically perfect" version of a song at one of the nicest recording studios in Hollywood, the Dust Brothers processed it in an [[Echoplex]] to create a gritty, reverb-heavy sound: "We did this high-tech recording and ran it through a [[transistor radio]]. It sounded too good, that was the problem."<ref name="nyt05"/> Initially due to be released in October 2004, ''Guero'' faced delays and did not come out until March 2005, though unmastered copies of the tracks surfaced online in January.<ref name="finished">{{cite news|access-date=May 7, 2008|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496060/20050119/index.jhtml?headlines=true|title=Finished Version of That Beck LP You Downloaded Due in March|publisher=MTV News|date=January 19, 2005|author=Perez, Rodrigo|archive-date=January 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115015010/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496060/20050119/index.jhtml?headlines=true|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''Guero'' debuted at number two on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], selling 162,000 copies, an all-time sales high.<ref name="guerobb">{{cite news|access-date=July 12, 2013|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/63396/50s-massacre-staves-off-becks-guero|title=50's ''Massacre'' Staves Off Beck's ''Guero''|publisher=MTV News|date=April 6, 2005|archive-date=September 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914090150/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/63396/50s-massacre-staves-off-becks-guero|url-status=live}}</ref> Lead single "[[E-Pro]]" peaked at number one at Modern Rock radio, making it his first chart-topper since "Loser".<ref name="charts">{{cite press release |author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title = Beck's GUERO Debuts at #2 |date = April 6, 2005 |publisher = PR Newswire |location = Los Angeles |url = http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/becks-guero-debuts-at-2-54203112.html |access-date = July 12, 2013 |quote = The numbers and critical acclaim have aligned: Beck's Guero entered the Top 200 albums at #2 today, representing an all-time sales high for the three-time Grammy winner. |archive-date = November 6, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131106103736/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/becks-guero-debuts-at-2-54203112.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Beck, inspired by the [[Nintendocore]] remix scene and feeling a connection with its lo-fi, home-recording method, collaborated with artists 8-Bit and Paza on ''[[Hell Yes (EP)|Hell Yes]]'', an [[Extended play|EP]] issued in February 2005.<ref name="guerolito"/> In December 2005, Geffen also issued ''[[Guerolito]]'', a fully reworked version of ''Guero'' featuring remixes by the [[Beastie Boys]]' [[Ad-Rock]], the Dust Brothers' [[John King (producer)|John King]] and Scottish electronic duo [[Boards of Canada]].<ref name="guerolito"/> ''Guerolito'' combines remixes previously heard as B-sides and new versions of album tracks to make a track-by-track reconfiguration of the album.<ref name="guerolito">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1511842/20051019/beck.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408201440/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1511842/20051019/beck.jhtml| title=Beastie Boys, Dust Brothers Get Their Hands on Beck's ''Guero''|author=Montgomery, James|date=October 19, 2005|publisher=MTV News|access-date=July 12, 2013|archive-date=April 8, 2008}}</ref> Also released in 2005 was ''A Brief Overview'', a 12-track promotional-only "History of Beck" compilation CD sampler that featured a combination of older and newer Beck tracks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''A Brief Overview'' |url=https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=320319 |date=2005 |author=Beck |access-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131040728/https://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=320319 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Beck 2006-01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Beck in 2006]]
''[[The Information (Beck album)|The Information]]'', Beck's tenth studio album, began production around the same time as ''Guero'', in 2003. Working again with Godrich, Beck built a studio in his garden, where they wrote many of the tracks.<ref name=rs06>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-breaks-new-ground-20061005| title=Beck Breaks New Ground| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=October 5, 2006| access-date=July 12, 2013| author=Serpick, Evan| issue=1010| page=16| publisher=[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=March 26, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326015551/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-breaks-new-ground-20061005| url-status=live}}</ref> "The idea was to get people in a room together recording live, hitting bad notes and screaming," said Beck, adding that the album is best described as "introspective hip hop".<ref name="rs06.1">{{cite news | title=Fall Music Preview: Beck, ''The Information''| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=September 7, 2006| issue =1008| page =32| publisher =[[Jann Wenner|Wenner Media]] [[Limited liability company|LLC]]| location =New York City | issn =0035-791X}}</ref> Beck described the recording process as "painful", noting that he edited down songs constantly and he perhaps recorded the album three times.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|title=Beck's 'Painful' Album|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20061002_beckday2.shtml|publisher=BBC|date=October 2, 2006|access-date=October 16, 2006|archive-date=October 22, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022162317/http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20061002_beckday2.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> For the release, Beck was allowed for the first time to fulfill a long-running wish for an unconventional rollout: he made low-budget videos to accompany each song, packaged the CD with sheets of stickers so buyers could customize the cover, and leaked tracks and videos on his website months ahead of the album's release.<ref name="rs06"/><ref>{{cite news |access-date=April 25, 2008 |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535009/20060623/beck.jhtml?headlines=true|title=Beck Giving Fans Sticky Fingers With Quasi-Hip-Hop Album|publisher=MTV|date=June 26, 2006|author=Montgomery, James| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080502051307/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535009/20060623/beck.jhtml?headlines=true| archive-date= May 2, 2008 | url-status= dead}}</ref> Digital download releases automatically downloaded the song's additional video for each single sale, and physical copies came bundled with an additional DVD featuring fifteen videos.<ref name="rs06"/>

=== ''Modern Guilt'', production work, Record Club and ''Song Reader'' (2008–2013) ===
In 2007, Beck released the single "[[Timebomb (Beck song)|Timebomb]]", which was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.<ref name="nyt08"/> For his next studio effort, his tenth, Beck tapped [[Danger Mouse (musician)|Danger Mouse]] to produce, and the two first met in December 2007 to record. The duo knocked out two tracks in two days, but the notion that the album would be finished in a timely fashion soon evaporated.<ref name=nyt08>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html| title=In a Chaotic Industry, Beck Abides| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=July 6, 2008| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Itzkoff, Dave| location=New York City| issn=0362-4331| archive-date=January 18, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118012526/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Beck had known Danger Mouse casually before, as many of his former musicians ended up working with Danger Mouse's side project, [[Gnarls Barkley]]. Still, the musicians were surprised at how well they got along.<ref name="rs08"/> Following the grueling recording schedule, Beck was exhausted, calling it "the most intense work I've ever done on anything", relating that he "did at least 10 weeks with no days off, until four or five in the morning every night."<ref name="rs08"/> Beck's original vision was a short 10-track burst with two-minute songs, but the songs gradually grew as he fit 'two years of songwriting into two and a half months."<ref name=rs08>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-beck-conjures-1960s-brit-rock-vibe-on-danger-mouse-produced-modern-guilt-20080512| title=Beck, Danger Mouse Craft '60s-Style Disc| work=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]| date=May 29, 2008| access-date=July 12, 2013| author=Edwards, Gavin| issue=1053| page=20| location=New York City| issn=0035-791X| archive-date=February 3, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203184758/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/in-the-studio-beck-conjures-1960s-brit-rock-vibe-on-danger-mouse-produced-modern-guilt-20080512| url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Modern Guilt]]'' (2008) was "full of off-kilter rhythms and left-field breakdowns, with an overall 1960s vibe."<ref name="rs08" />

''Modern Guilt'' was the final release in Beck's contract with Geffen Records. Beck, then 38, had held the contract since his early 20s.<ref name="nyt08"/><ref name="rs08"/> Released from his label contract and going independent, Beck began working more heavily on his own seven-year-old label, which went through a variety of names.<ref name="p4k11"/> He focused on smaller, more quixotic projects,<ref name="nym12"/> and moonlighted as a producer, working with artists such as [[Charlotte Gainsbourg]], [[Thurston Moore]] and [[Stephen Malkmus]].<ref name="p4k11"/> Beck worked for five or six days a week at the small studio on his property in Malibu, and founded [[Record Club]], a project whereby an entire classic album—by [[The Velvet Underground]], [[Leonard Cohen]], [[INXS]], [[Yanni]]—would be covered by another singer in the span of a single day.<ref name="nym12"/> Beck provided four songs for the film ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' (2010), each attributed to the title character's fictional band, Sex Bob-Omb.<ref name=ew10>{{Cite news|url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/06/21/scott-pilgrim-soundtrack/|author=Brittain, Jace|title=Beck and Michael Cera team up on ''Scott Pilgrim'' soundtrack|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=July 11, 2013|date=June 21, 2010|publisher=[[Time Inc.]]|location=New York City|issn=1049-0434|archive-date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200052/http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/06/21/scott-pilgrim-soundtrack/|url-status=live}}</ref> Beck also collaborated with [[Philip Glass]],<ref name=collabglass>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/48084-listen-to-becks-epic-20-minute-philip-glass-remix/| title=Listen to Beck's Epic 20-Minute Philip Glass Remix| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=October 3, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Battan, Carrie| archive-date=July 13, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713090131/http://pitchfork.com/news/48084-listen-to-becks-epic-20-minute-philip-glass-remix/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]],<ref name=collabwhite>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/46628-beck-to-release-single-on-jack-whites-third-man-records/| title=Beck to Release New Single on Jack White's Third Man Records, Hear Clips Now| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 23, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Battan, Carrie| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706050139/http://pitchfork.com/news/46628-beck-to-release-single-on-jack-whites-third-man-records/| archive-date=July 6, 2013| df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Tobacco (musician)|Tobacco]] of [[Black Moth Super Rainbow]],<ref name=collab1>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37964-beck-to-guest-on-new-tobacco-album/| title=Beck to Guest on New Tobacco Album| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=February 19, 2010| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Breihan, Tom| archive-date=June 15, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615185553/http://pitchfork.com/news/37964-beck-to-guest-on-new-tobacco-album/| url-status=live}}</ref> Jamie Lidell,<ref name=collab2>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42468-listen-beck-remixes-jamie-lidell/| title=Listen: Beck Remixes Jamie Lidell| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 10, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Fitzmaurice, Larry| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624184855/http://pitchfork.com/news/42468-listen-beck-remixes-jamie-lidell/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Seu Jorge]],<ref name=collab3>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42413-red-hot-rio-2-tropicalia-tribute-compilation-tracklist-revealed-collaborations-abound/| title=''Red Hot + Rio 2'' Tropicália Tribute Compilation Tracklist Revealed, Collaborations Abound| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 4, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Breihan, Tom| archive-date=July 9, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709160539/http://pitchfork.com/news/42413-red-hot-rio-2-tropicalia-tribute-compilation-tracklist-revealed-collaborations-abound/| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Childish Gambino]],<ref name=collab5>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/| title=Even Beck Can't Save Childish Gambino's Messy 'Silk Pillow'| magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]| date=May 31, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Hogan, Mark| archive-date=June 23, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623011123/http://www.spin.com/2012/05/even-beck-cant-save-childish-gambinos-messy-silk-pillow/| url-status=live}}</ref> and [[The Lonely Island]].<ref name=collab6>{{cite web| url=https://pitchfork.com/news/42399-listen-to-becks-collab-with-the-lonely-island/| title=Listen to Beck's Collab With the Lonely Island| publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]| date=May 3, 2011| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=Fitzmaurice, Larry| archive-date=June 24, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624224821/http://pitchfork.com/news/42399-listen-to-becks-collab-with-the-lonely-island/| url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Beck at Union Chapel London 2013 (3).jpg|thumb|Beck performing in 2013]]
''[[Song Reader]]'', a project Beck released in December 2012, is 20 songs presented only as sheet music, in the hopes that enterprising musicians will record their own versions.<ref name=srnpr>{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/168263920/beck-explains-song-reader-an-album-fans-perform-themselves| title=Beck Explains ''Song Reader'', An Album Fans Perform Themselves| publisher=[[NPR]]| date=December 29, 2012| access-date=July 11, 2013| author=NPR staff| archive-date=July 1, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701014223/http://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/168263920/beck-explains-song-reader-an-album-fans-perform-themselves| url-status=live}}</ref> The idea of ''Song Reader'' came about nearly fifteen years prior, shortly after the release of ''Odelay''.<ref name="nym12"/> When sent a book of transcribed sheet music for that album, Beck decided to play through it and grew interested in the world before recorded sound. He aimed to keep the arrangements as open as possible, to re-create the simplicity of the standards, and became preoccupied with creating only pieces that could fit within the [[Great American Songbook]].<ref name="nym12"/> In 2013 Beck began playing special ''Song Reader'' concerts with a variety of guests and announced he was working on a record of ''Song Reader'' material with other musicians as well as possibly a compilation of fan versions.<ref name="Future Heart">{{cite web |date=November 21, 2013 |publisher=The Future Heart |url=http://thefutureheart.com/2013/11/21/beck-updates/ |title=Beck Working on "Song Reader" Record; Reveals "Morning Phase" Details |access-date=November 22, 2013 |archive-date=November 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124023659/http://thefutureheart.com/2013/11/21/beck-updates/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the summer of 2013, Beck was reported to be working on two new studio albums: one a more self-contained acoustic disc in the vein of ''One Foot in the Grave'' and another described as a "proper follow-up" to ''Modern Guilt''.<ref name=rs13>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-planning-two-new-albums-listen-to-new-song-defriended-20130604 |magazine=Rolling Stone |title=Beck Planning Two New Albums; Listen to New Song 'Defriended' |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-date=July 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711044222/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-planning-two-new-albums-listen-to-new-song-defriended-20130604 |url-status=live }}</ref> Beck expected to release both albums independently, and released three standalone singles over the course of the year: the [[Electro (music)|electro]] ballad "[[Defriended]]",  the chorus-heavy "I Won't Be Long", and finally "Gimme".<ref name="rs13"/><ref name="rs13.1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-hands-out-new-song-i-wont-be-long-20130702|magazine=Rolling Stone|title=Beck Hands Out New Song 'I Won't Be Long'|access-date=July 11, 2013|archive-date=July 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705040957/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beck-hands-out-new-song-i-wont-be-long-20130702|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Nephilim |date=September 18, 2013 |title=Gimme: il nuovo sorprendente singolo di Beck (anteprima audio) |trans-title=Gimme: the amazing new single by Beck (Audio Preview) |language=it |publisher=Radio Musik |url=http://www.radiomusik.it/11936/gimme-il-nuovo-sorprendente-singolo-di-beck-anteprima-audio/ |access-date=September 18, 2013 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061312/http://www.radiomusik.it/11936/gimme-il-nuovo-sorprendente-singolo-di-beck-anteprima-audio/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2013, Beck signed to [[Capitol Records]].<ref name="Columbia">{{cite web |last1=Itzkoff |first1=Dave |title=Beck to Release New Album After Signing With Capitol Records |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/beck-to-release-new-album-after-signing-with-capitol-records/ |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 4, 2023 |date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>

=== ''Morning Phase'', ''Colors'', ''Hyperspace'' (2014–2022) ===
In January, Beck released the lead single "[[Blue Moon (Beck song)|Blue Moon]]" from his twelfth studio album, ''[[Morning Phase]]''.<ref name="Blue Moon Amazon">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon/dp/B00HYGKGU2/ |title=Blue Moon: Beck |website=Amazon |date=January 20, 2014 |access-date=January 23, 2014 |archive-date=January 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130085439/http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon/dp/B00HYGKGU2 |url-status=live }}</ref> A second single "[[Waking Light]]" was also released a week prior to the official release of ''Morning Phase'' on February 21, 2014.<ref name="Waking Light Amazon">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Light/dp/B00I0C8PHA/ |title=Waking Light: Beck |website=Amazon |date=February 4, 2014 |access-date=February 4, 2014 |archive-date=February 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205042905/http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Light/dp/B00I0C8PHA |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Minsker|first=Evan|title=Listen: Beck: "Waking Light"|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/53830-listen-beck-waking-light/|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]|date=February 4, 2014|access-date=February 4, 2014|archive-date=February 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207102704/http://pitchfork.com/news/53830-listen-beck-waking-light/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Morning Phase Amazon">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Morning-Phase-Beck/dp/B00IB73QTG/ |title=Morning Phase: Beck |website=Amazon |date=February 25, 2014 |access-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302061428/http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Phase-Beck/dp/B00IB73QTG |url-status=live }}</ref> For the recording of the album, Beck reunited with many of the same musicians with whom he had worked on the critically acclaimed 2002 album ''[[Sea Change (album)|Sea Change]]'', and likely because of this, it has been noted that the two albums share a similar mood and genre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.radio.com/2013/11/26/beck-2014-album-morning-phase-preview/ |title=Why Beck's 'Morning Phase' Is Already Among the Best Albums of 2014 " Radio.com News |publisher=News.radio.com |date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=February 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105113207/http://news.radio.com/2013/11/26/beck-2014-album-morning-phase-preview/ |archive-date=January 5, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On February 8, 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, ''Morning Phase'' won three Grammys: [[Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical|Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical]]; [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Album|Best Rock Album]]; and [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/58388-beck-wins-album-of-the-year-grammy-kanye-runs-on-stage/|title=Beck Wins Album of the Year Grammy, Kanye Runs on Stage|work=Pitchfork|date=February 8, 2015|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=May 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524082604/https://pitchfork.com/news/58388-beck-wins-album-of-the-year-grammy-kanye-runs-on-stage/|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon receiving the Album of the Year award, the album beat out Pharrell Williams's ''G I R L'', Beyoncé's [[Beyoncé (album)|self-titled album]], Sam Smith's ''[[In the Lonely Hour]]'', and Ed Sheeran's ''[[X (Ed Sheeran album)|x]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards|title=Awards|date=April 30, 2017|work=GRAMMY.com|access-date=October 17, 2017|language=en|archive-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213215027/http://www.grammy.com/nominees|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:OhanaSep18-187 (45223106461).jpg|thumb|Beck in October 2018]]
In June 2015, Beck released "[[Dreams (Beck song)|Dreams]]", the first single for his next album.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Anderson |first1=Trevor |date=June 15, 2015 |title=Beck Returns to Funk With 'Dreams' From Upcoming Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6598151/beck-dreams-new-album |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514181210/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6598151/beck-dreams-new-album |archive-date=May 14, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> The next June, he released the next single, "[[Wow (Beck song)|Wow]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Julia |date=June 2, 2016 |title=Beck's New Album Will Sound Nothing Like His Grammy-Winning ''Morning Phase'' |url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/news/a45447/beck-announces-new-album/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130090823/http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/news/a45447/beck-announces-new-album/ |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |website=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref> On September 8, 2017, Beck released the single "Dear Life", which was followed up with the official release of "Up All Night" on September 18.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Monroe|first1=Jazz|last2=Wicks|first2=Amanda|title=Beck Shares New Song "Dear Life": Listen|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/beck-shares-new-song-dear-life-listen/|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=October 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016022311/https://pitchfork.com/news/beck-shares-new-song-dear-life-listen/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Up All Night">{{cite magazine|last1=Reed|first1=Ryan|title=Watch Beck's Hallucinatory Video for Slick New Song 'Up All Night'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-becks-hallucinatory-video-for-slick-new-song-up-all-night-w501513|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=September 6, 2017|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912130810/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-becks-hallucinatory-video-for-slick-new-song-up-all-night-w501513|url-status=live}}</ref> The album, ''[[Colors (Beck album)|Colors]]'', was released on October 13, 2017. It was recorded at co-executive producer [[Greg Kurstin]]'s Los Angeles studio, with Beck and Kurstin playing nearly every instrument themselves.<ref name="Rolling Stone Colors">{{cite magazine|last1=Greene|first1=Andy|title=Beck Talks 'Complex' New Pop Opus 'Colors'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/beck-talks-new-album-colors-kanye-at-grammys-w496982|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=October 16, 2017|date=August 11, 2017|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014205006/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/beck-talks-new-album-colors-kanye-at-grammys-w496982|url-status=live}}</ref> The experimental pop-fused record received generally positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reviews and Tracks for Colors by Beck|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/colors/beck|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=October 16, 2017|archive-date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017232606/http://www.metacritic.com/music/colors/beck|url-status=live}}</ref> On July 18, 2018, Beck performed the title track ''Colors'', and the first single "Wow" on ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8466144/late-show-beck-performs-colors-wow-colbert|title=Beck Gives Electrifying Performances of 'Colors' & 'Wow' on 'The Late Show': Watch|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-date=July 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720173827/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8466144/late-show-beck-performs-colors-wow-colbert|url-status=live}}</ref>

On April 15, 2019, Beck released a single co-produced with [[Pharrell Williams]] titled "[[Saw Lightning]]" from his fourteenth studio album, titled ''[[Hyperspace (album)|Hyperspace]]''.<ref name="NPR Hyperspace">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/04/15/713518756/listen-beck-and-pharrell-team-up-for-saw-lightning|title=Listen: Beck and Pharrell Team Up For 'Saw Lightning'|newspaper=NPR|date=April 15, 2019|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=April 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425211054/https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/04/15/713518756/listen-beck-and-pharrell-team-up-for-saw-lightning|url-status=live|last1=Bote|first1=Joshua}}</ref> The song "[[Dark Places (song)|Dark Places]]" was released on November 6, with the album being released on November 22.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8542983/beck-new-song-dark-places|title=Beck Goes to Some Seriously 'Dark Places' on Meditative 'Hyperspace' Song: Listen|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|date=November 7, 2019|magazine=Billboard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107182815/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8542983/beck-new-song-dark-places|archive-date=November 7, 2019|access-date=November 9, 2019}}</ref>

=== Recent activity (2022–present) ===
On September 25, 2022, Beck released a cover of [[Neil Young]]'s track "[[Old Man (song)|Old Man]]" to promote a ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' game. The track was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance]] for the 65th [[Grammy Awards]] later in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-13 |title=Beck Gives a New Shine to Old Man |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/beck-gives-a-new-shine-to-old-man-44305/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=Beck Covers Neil Young's "Old Man": Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2200731/beck-old-man-neil-young-cover/music/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref> A music video for the track would be released on December 8, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peacock |first=Tim |date=2022-12-09 |title=Beck Shares Performance Video For His Cover Of Neil Young's 'Old Man' |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/beck-neil-young-old-man-video/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=uDiscover Music |language=en-US}}</ref> Following the commercial featuring the cover, Neil Young posted a still image from his 1988 music video for "This Note's For You", an anti-commercialization song in protest of the cover and commercial.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-27 |title=Neil Young Takes A Shot At Beck's "Old Man" Cover Appearing In An NFL Commercial |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2200834/neil-young-takes-a-shot-at-becks-old-man-cover-appearing-in-an-nfl-commercial/news/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref>

Later on February 10, 2023, he released the song "Thinking About You", his first original solo-track since 2019's [[Hyperspace (album)|''Hyperspace'']]. A music video for the track would be released on February 20, 2023. It is currently unknown if this means a 15th studio album will be released in the upcoming future or not.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2023-02-10 |title=Beck Gets Back Into His Morning Phase on New Song 'Thinking About You' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beck-new-song-thinking-about-you-1234677358/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Many music critics have noted that it sounds like a return to the folk of ''[[Morning Phase]]'' and [[Sea Change (album)|''Sea Change'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=BECK "THINKING ABOUT YOU" NEW SINGLE OUT NOW |url=https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/beck-thinking-about-you-new-single-out-now/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Umusic |language=en-US |archive-date=April 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423184449/https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/beck-thinking-about-you-new-single-out-now/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=lewis |first=scott |date=2023-02-08 |title=Beck Shares New Acoustic Standalone Single 'Thinking About You' |url=https://indie88.com/beck-shares-new-acoustic-standalone-single-thinking-about-you/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Indie88 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

On June 21, 2023, Beck released the track "[[Odyssey (song)|Odyssey]]" with French [[pop rock|pop-rock]] band [[Phoenix (French band)|Phoenix]], who did a co-headlining summer tour with Beck, which started in August and ended in September.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-21 |title=Beck and Phoenix Team Up for New Song "Odyssey" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/beck-and-phoenix-team-up-for-new-song-odyssey-listen/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Paul |first=Larisha |date=2023-01-23 |title=Beck and Phoenix Share Dates for 2023 Co-Headlining 'Summer Odyssey' Tour |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beck-phoenix-summer-odyssey-coheadlining-north-american-tour-1234666268/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Geraghty |first=Hollie |date=2023-06-21 |title=Beck and Phoenix share collaborative single 'Odyssey' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/beck-and-phoenix-share-collaborative-single-odyssey-3458897 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-21 |title=Beck, Phoenix Team Up for Sparkling New Song 'Odyssey' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/beck-phoenix-team-sparkling-song-181319075.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Yahoo Entertainment |language=en-US}}</ref>